Tea ball holder



Jan. 15, 1935. I K cssow 1,987,896

TEA BALL HOLDER Filed March 20, 1954 [{VVENTOR Konrad E. Erzlcwan I A TTORNEY Patented Jan. 15, 1935 I Y 1,987,896" I frail BALDHQLDER Konrad E. Ericsson, Rochester, N. Y 7

I t f..-A plicati on March 20,

1934, swim... 116,516 I I scam (oresss) l My invention relates to a tea ball holder, and has for its'purpose 'to provide a practical construction which can be manufactured: at a low cost and is adapted to grip the edge of a saucer for supporting a tea ball when the-"latter is removed fromithe cup. a In serving tea, it is customary-to let thetea ball remain in the pot of. tea,- and provide an additional container with hot :water'to weaken the tea as desired. This has. theobjection. that the tea'is not as palatable as if the .tea'ball is removed-from, the beverage when the desired strength is attained. It is preferable, therefore, to leave the tea ball in thetea only-for afew moments, and it is an object of the invention to aiford'a convenient andsatisfactory way of disposing of the tea ball when it is removed from the cup of tea and retaining it for further use if necessary.

It is also a purpose of the invention to employ a paper container for the tea ball which can be destroyed after it is used, thus doing away with the necessity of having to wash an additional receptacle, and affording an altogether cleanly and sanitary method of handling.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction that will appear clearly from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, the novel features being pointed out in the claims following the specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing a preferred embodiment of the invention in operative position on a saucer;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the wire member;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the saucer removed, and showing a modified form of interlocking means between the paper container and the supporting means;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of another modified form of container;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the several views, the purposes of the invention may be carried out in a variety of ways, and I have illustrated one embodiment which has proved successful and in which the container supporting means and saucer-gripping means are formed from a single integral piece of wire bent 'to'the desired shape. Thisawire'member includes.- avertical or upstandingportion: 1 formed by twisting two adjacent strands rof wire, and a container supporting means at the top of the vertical portion 1, preferably having the form of a ring 2 adapted to surround and support the-container. At the bottom of the" vertical .portionil is a saucergripping means preferably comprising U-shaped clamping members 3 which are formed by suitably, bending the ends of the wire to substantially the relation shownin the drawing. The two ends, of; the wire member are bent into parallel relationship and covered by. a sheet metal clip 4' which is held in place over the wire ends many suitable manner. and affords a shoe or protecting portion to engage the under surface of a saucer, as shown in Fig. 1, and. prevent the porcelain from being scratched by the exposed wire ends.

The container 5 is preferably made of paper and of conical formation, as shown, so as to drop within the ring 2 and be supported thereby. To prevent accidental removal of the container from the supporting ring 2, the container is provided with means for interlocking with the supporting means, to accomplish which the container may be provided with an annular groove 6, the relation of the parts being such that the ring 2 slips into the groove when the container is forced slightly downwardly .into the supporting ring, and to remove the container it must be pulled forcibly from the support or pushed forcibly therethrough.

Another form of interlocking means for accomplishing this end is shown in Fig. 3, where the outer wall of the container is provided with tabs 7 glued or otherwise secured to the container and with their upper ends free. With this arrangement, the container is pushed downwardly into the supporting ring 2 until the latter is at a point above the tops of the tabs 7. The latter then spring outwardly, and upon releasing the container, it will move slightly in an upward direction, permitting the free ends of the tabs 7 to move to a position outside the ring 2 and thus prevent the container from accidentally slipping out of the supporting ring. When it is desired to remove the container, it can be pushed forcibly through the supporting ring 2 or can be pulled forcibly in an upward direction against the action of the tabs 7.

Instead of securing tabs to the container, they may be formed integral, as shown in Figs. 4 to 7, in which the container is shown as formed from a single piece of paper 8 coiled to the desired conical shape, and including inner and outer laps. The tabs 9 are formed by punching them from the outer lap of the container 8.

In operating the device, when a cup 01' tea is to be served, the wire attachment is secured to the edge of the saucer by means of the clamping members 3, and a paper container is pushed into the supporting ring 2 until it is interlocked therewith and the tea ball is placed within the paper container 5. The teaball. can be placed in the cup of hot water and removed as often as desired, and when not in use is kept in the papert container 5. when the tea ball is to be used no removed from the supporting ring 21nd can be destroyed, a new container being placed in the supporting ring for each fresh 'teaball. i I

The structure shown may be modiiiedas to various details, without departing from the underlying principles 0d. the'improvement; and this application is intended to cover any-"changes or modifications coming within the purposes of the invention or :the scope oi the following claims.

I claim: i I 1 a 1. A tea ball holder comprising avertical portion positionable between the inner and outer edges oi therim ot a saucer, a pairoi oppositely arranged, symmetrically disposed, f U-shaped saucer gripping members extending -outwardly from the bottom of said vertical'portion around the edge of a saucer and thence under the saucer inwardly, and a container'supporting ring'extending outwardly from the top' of said vertical portion whereby a containerpositioned same, and a container supporting ring extending outwardly from the top of said vertical portion for supporting a container with the innermost portion of the edge of the latter located over the rim of the saucer and spaced horizontally from the inner-edge of said rim.

3 'I,he combination with a tea ball holder comprising a single piece of wire including a verticalportion consisting oftwo strands 01 wire twisted together and. positionable between the inner and outer edges of the rim of a saucer, a pair oi. angularly and oppositely arranged, symmetrically disposed,v U-shaped saucer gripping members extending outwardly trom the bottom of said verticalportion around the edge oi the saucer and thence: inwardly under the same,'a container supporting ring extending outwardly from the top of said vertical portion, and a paper container positionable in said ring with the innermost portion of its edge located above the rim of. the saucer and spaced horizontally from-the inner edge of said rim.

KONRAD E. ERICSSON. 

